Currently in the lighting industry, many lighting manufacturers produce low voltage pendant-style electrical fixtures. These pendant-style electrical fixtures are produced for lighting highlighting artwork, collections or architectural details, and can also provide general or task illumination for an entire room or a portion of a room.
Each conventional low voltage pendant-style fixture is suspended from a ceiling mounted fixture or supportive structure via a coaxial cable secured to a coaxial connector. In turn, the coaxial connector is fastened to a mating member of the ceiling mounted fixture to provide support and electric current to the pendant-style fixture. The coaxial cable is the current carrying element of the low voltage pendant-style fixture.
Generally, a conventional low voltage pendant-style fixture is configured to provide a cable adjustment feature to enable a modification of the length of the coaxial cable in order to hang the respective fixture at a suitable height or distance from ceiling mounted fixture or supportive structure. Typically, the cable length adjustment is performed by detaching the cable from the coaxial connector, trimming the cable to a predetermined length, and reconnecting the cable to the coaxial connector for mating to the ceiling mounted fixture. However, due to the structural composition of the coaxial cable which typically includes a braided outer jacket or sheath and a insulated inner wire, an installer or user may find the coaxial cable length adjustment to be a tedious and imprecise process.
Furthermore, during a reconnection of the coaxial cable to the coaxial connector, strands of the braided outer member may become frayed and come into contact with other current carrying elements of the connector, thereby potentially resulting in either a short circuit or an open electrical connection. When proper electrical contact is not achieved, the coaxial cable and connector contact points need to be visibly checked or the electrical fitting between coaxial cable and connector needs to be disassembled. Unfortunately, in typical coaxial connectors, contact points are not readily visible.
Moreover, conventional coaxial connectors utilize a screw to achieve a secure mechanical attachment to the coaxial cable which typically damages the outer braided member of the cable, thereby requiring a trimming or shortening of the cable prior to reattaching to the coaxial connector. This trimming of the cable may prevent the user or installer from hanging the light fixture at the desired or suitable height, and may lead to the purchase of another cable. Thus, this cable trimming engenders loss of time and materials.
Therefore, a need exists for a coaxial connector that overcomes the problems noted above and others previously experienced when operating as an electrical contact and mechanical support for a pendant-style fixture. These and other needs will become apparent to those of skill in the art after readying the present specification.